CBO director Doug Elmendorf reiterates that health care nationalization won’t help our budget fix (as Democrats promised it would), it only makes things worse:
The central challenge is straightforward and stark: The rising costs of health care will put tremendous pressure on the federal budget during the next few decades and beyond.
In CBO’s judgment, the health legislation enacted earlier this year does not substantially diminish that pressure. In fact, CBO estimated that the health legislation will increase the federal budgetary commitment to health care . . . by nearly $400 billion during the 2010-2019 period.
He went on to say that the picture is better in the second decade “if the provisions of the legislation remain unchanged”, which everyone knows won’t happen.
Ed Morrissey complains:
Gee, perhaps the CBO could have told us that in March, when it might have made a difference.
But that’s not fair; the CBO did tell us that, as far back as July 2009. The Democrats just refused to listen.
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